HELEN CARTER

"I have to be emotionally and mentally taken over by my paintings.” – Shani Rhys Jones

My practice investigates intention and chance, substance and immateriality. I am interested in the moment when an intuitive response to the paint takes over, allowing for a new way of thinking, a different vantage point, a switching over to another kind of consciousness.

Having moved away from Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University, my practice continues to reflect a quiet hankering for the Cornish coast and I return there often. I am interested in how the sea can take over all your senses in a way that, for me, other landscapes don’t quite match; the roar of the waves or their gentle lapping against the shore, the play of light on the water, the way the weather can roll in and completely transform the landscape in a matter of moments.

Whilst I initially make drawings and take photos, these are rarely in front of me when I’m painting. The repetitive process of mark making becomes a means of teasing out memories of being in the landscape, finding glimpses in the way a brush stroke looks or in an unpredictable reaction between the turpentine and the paint.

The resulting paintings are an amalgamation of landscapes observed and the time spent searching for them again in the paint. Some details may be left out or forgotten but what remains taps into a more visceral memory of the landscape instead.

My paintings are tangible mementos of journeys of escapism and meditation. Similarly, I hope that my work can provide a contemplative space for the viewer, encouraging stillness and inviting their own quiet journeys through the pieces.